On his last night of summer, he doesn't go over to Sehun's, choosing instead to stay in his room, texting Kyungsoo and watching as Sehun stares blankly at a wall, a cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth.

     “Can you believe we're finally seniors?” Yixing asks when they meet in the morning before their first class.

     Jongin grins. “Felt like just yesterday we were competing for the best dancer at that old dance place, huh?” Yixing's face lights up and he starts laughing as he reminisces a humorous memory.

     “Hey,” Kyungsoo says, slipping his fingers between Jongin's and giving him a short kiss on the lips. “What's so funny?” he asks, smiling as Yixing bursts into another laughing fit. Yifan shakes his head behind him, but the small smile on his lips is enough to show Jongin that he isn't actually bothered. He loves Yixing too much to be.

     Jongin's attention is taken away from his small group of friends when he sees Sehun walk into the school, uniform on, and while it's messy and unprofessional, Jongin is glad he tried.

     He waves Sehun's blank eyes over and the other accepts it, not having anywhere else to go.

     “Hey Sehun,” Kyungsoo says, giving him a light smile. Sehun returns it and looks at Jongin.

     “I think we have the same English class,” he says, handing a piece of paper to Jongin. Jongin unfolds it and scans through the schedule and nods.

     “Oh, we have the same history class,” Kyungsoo chimes in, pointing to the block on the paper. “Yixing you have chemistry third period, too, right?” Yixing nods. “Looks like you've got Yifan and Yixing with you in chemistry.” Jongin hands back the schedule and gives him a pat on the shoulder.

     “Can't get away from us this year, huh?” Jongin smiles and Sehun returns it, but Jongin can see it doesn't reach his eyes. He doesn't mention it.

     His first class is math with Kyungsoo. They sit together, more focused on whispering with each other than listening to the class's curriculum. They'd heard it millions of times in other classes, and he wasn't planning on listening to them again. They'd be reviewing from last year, going into more intense calculus, etc., but Jongin was too focused on listening to Kyungsoo than pay attention to the syllabus.

     “Jongdae said that he and Baekhyun also got into chorus,” Kyungsoo whispers, grinning from ear to ear.

     “Really? That's great! They're both great singers, but not as good as you.” Kyungsoo flushes, and hit his arm. Jongin grins and starts playing with Kyungsoo's fingers while the teacher drones on.

     He has the rest of the classes to himself before he's in English with Sehun.

     “How's your day been so far?” Jongin questions, turning his head to look over at Sehun who's texting on his phone.

     “Boring.”

     “Tell me about it,” Jongin agrees, flicking a piece of led off his desk. “Are you sitting with us at lunch?” he asks and Sehun shrugs.

     “If that's my only option.”

     “I'm not saying you have to, I'm just saying you're welcome to.”

     Sehun nods, typing something into his phone before locking it and sliding it into his pocket. He looks at Jongin. “You don't have to babysit me, you know. I've had plenty of first days at new schools. I know how to manage.”

     “I'm not trying to babysit you, Sehun. I'm just being a friend. It's what friends do.”

     Sehun gives him a blank look before sliding his eyes out the window to stare at whatever, and Jongin turns back to the teacher.

     It's when they file out of the classroom that Sehun speaks again. “I'm not worth the trouble, Jongin,” he says before picking up his backpack and leaving.

     He slides into Sehun's room that night with chips and soda. They talk about a lot and Jongin wonders what changed between them in the day time that changed Sehun to talk about himself in the night time in a room full of smoke and words.

     “Weed is cheaper in China, did you know that?” he asks, stubbing out his cigarette.

     Jongin arches one of his eyebrows and looks at Sehun. “And you know this how?”

     “Really, Jongin?” Sehun asks, coughing into his hand. “Do you really have to ask?”

      Jongin supposes he doesn't, but his life is full of reminders at how drugs are so bad, and he's never associated with people that have had the experience before. Until now.

     It's quiet for a while, but it isn't awkward. He can hear Sehun's fingers tapping against his phone and wonders what it is that always has him so interested in the device.

     Jongin speaks up after the smoke from his finished cigarette stops. “Hey Sehun.”

     Sehun hums in response.

     “What did you mean earlier today?” he asks. He hears the tapping stop for a brief moment before it continues.

     “When?”

     “You know when.”

     Sehun lets out a sigh and looks up at Jongin with the same tired and cold eyes as always. “You've got a great life, Jongin. You don't need me to tell you that, and you certainly don't need for me to screw it up. I've done it before, and I'm not going to do it again.”

     Jongin wants to push and ask what he means, but he doesn't. Instead, he chooses to climb out of the window and back into his room where he falls asleep in his bed.

     The next few weeks pass by quickly, but somehow seems to slow down when he finds Sehun absent for a week. He wants to go over and ask what's wrong, but the window and curtains are closed, so he doesn't try.

     He comes back a week after, looking thinner and even more tired than before.

     “Are you okay, man?” Jongin asks, tilting his face up to get a better look at the sharpen features.

     Sehun pulls his face away, giving a fatigued nod and rubs his eyes.

     “You don't look fine,” Jongin states, giving him a worried look, but Sehun shrugs it off.

     “It's whatever,” he says and Jongin doesn't pry because he knows those words are used when he doesn't want to talk anymore about it.

     The day continues on like normal after that and Jongin finds the weeks to be speeding by again. As soon as he knows it, it's already the end of the first quarter.

     Jongin is in Sehun's room again, still smoking the same brand of cigarettes. Sehun, this time, has a brownish liquid in a clear glass and Jongin can only assume it's some sort of alcohol.

     His eyes slid over to Sehun after he hears a fit of coughing. “Are you all right?” he asks, stubbing out his cigarette.

     Sehun nods and wipes his hands on his black sweats, going back to whatever he was doing.

     “That didn't sound good,” Jongin swings his legs off of the window seat and faces Sehun. “Have you been doing that often?”

     Sehun shrugs, looking uninterested and it isn't until Jongin actually looks that he can see the features of Sehun growing sharper and the bags under his eyes growing darker.

     “Sehun-”

     “Jongin, stop. I'm fine.”

     He wants to push, but decides against it and pulls out his phone, replying to the messages Kyungsoo has sent him about a problem in the math homework.